Track & Field: Leleux Finishes Second In Pole Vault At NCAA Championships

EUGENE, Ore. – Morgann Leleux capped off an incredible season for the Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns track and field team after finishing second overall in the women’s pole vault at the 2016 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships on Thursday at historic Hayward Field.
 
Leleux, who earned First-Team All-America status for the fifth time in her career, overcame cool temperatures and rainy conditions to clear the bar at 14 feet, 1 ¼ inches and becoming the first Ragin’ Cajuns female athlete since Jasmine Manuel in 2012 to earn All-America honors.
 
The New Iberia native, who was a five-time All-American at Georgia before transferring to Louisiana, joined Ragin’ Cajuns Michael Vani (2014), Chris Roy (2010 and 2012) and current Ragin’ Cajuns head coach Lon Badeaux (1996) in earning All-America honors in the pole vault.
 
"I’m very proud of Morgann," Badeaux said. "It was far from a perfect day to pole vault with swirly winds and constant light rain, but she stayed clean through 14-1 and ended up in the second position. We would have liked to have jumped higher, but we are very pleased to leave Eugene with a runner-up finish."
 
Arkansas freshman Lexi Weeks, the 2016 NCAA Indoor champion, claimed the outdoor championship after clearing the bar at 14-9. Alysha Newman of Miami (Fla.) finished tied with Leleux for second place with Indiana’s Sydney Clute finishing fourth (14-1 ¼) and Megan Clark of Duke finishing fifth (14-1 ¼).